Bass Boat Chine Walking

[jhow0228]

I have an 84 18' Bass Hawk w/ a 92 Merc XR6 150hp(motor has a 24 or 25p can't remember which one, Quicksilver SS prop). Boat rides great, but I can only get the motor to about 4300rpm trimmed very little before it starts 'walking'. I've driven many bass boats and been able to get the walk out of them, but not yet mastered this one. Anyone have some tips for me to smooth it out?

 

[jhow0228]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

One more thing to add: when I start to trim the boat down to stop, it wants to kick right, I've got one opinion from a friend saying this is normal. Just wanted some other opinions.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

One more thing to add: when I start to trim the boat down to stop, it wants to kick right, I've got one opinion from a friend saying this is normal. Just wanted some other opinions.

The description tells me it's falling off the pad. It could be water logged foam. Normally, if you have enough power, you just push on through the chinewalk. Almost every boat does it at some point. Having the wrong prop pitch and type can make it more difficult to recover from but I would start your troubleshooting by adding a 100lbs of 00 buck shot to the port side seat (bagged of course). You can move it around until you find the sweat spot. Don't worry, no body will laugh at you. Ask any Allison owner what they do and you'll probably hear the same thing. I had an Alli XBT that took 75 lbs and a 2002 that took 125lbs.

A side note about the buck shot. If it is your cure, either make a permanent container for it or make sure you check the bag often. They tend to rot out and you end up with bb's rolling all over you boat..

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

The description tells me it's falling off the pad. It could be water logged foam.

Waterlogged foam is a very good point, and is something the vast majority of fiberglass boat owners ignore until their boat rots out from it.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

I only experienced it once at 55 mph which was my top speed. Scared me so I backed off and never went up there again; course the rest of the story is that it was my first outing with a new boat and the prop pitch was excessive for my setup. I went back to the dealer and got another prop with less pitch which solved the other issues it caused and in addition didn't allow me to get back to 55. Does that help? Don't know other than it happened at that speed which I assumed was above the designed performance speed of the hull.

Trim and trim tab settings are for your normal running condition. Expect things to change when you move off that operating point.

Mark

 

[JEBar]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

I've never owned a boat that could travel so fast that chine walking was a problem so I have no firsthand experience in this area .... I do fish with a friend who has a rocket sled for a bass boat that does .... over time he found that balancing the load in the boat really helped .... in thinking about it, could trim tabs which can help with making the boat run level help with chine walking

Jim

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

You should come down to the prop forums and get some input..Chine walking is very dangerous as mentioned above your hull is falling left to right or bouncing hard left to right at a very low rpm level as well

 

[sschefer]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

Jim, trim tabs don't help in this situation because the boat is designed to be up on the pad surface and the chines have very little contact with the water. When it falls of the pad the chine dips and the boat steers itself in one direction or the other depending on where the load difference is. Going right is the most dangerous but going left can be a handful too. Oddly enough, and I don't know exactly why, many boats see chine walking at around 55mph. I had one that did it right at 56.5mph (GPS) and another that did it at 54mph. If you add power and lift the bow you can usually push through it but you need to be a highly skilled operator and know the boat very well. In this particular case, the OP can take two courses of action. First would be to locate the actual cause and correct it if possible. If it's not possible to correct it (hook in the bottom is formed wrong) then he has to consider it a limitation and accept it.

 

[JEBar]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

Jim, trim tabs don't help in this situation because the boat is designed to be up on the pad surface and the chines have very little contact with the water.

10-4 .... info appreciated

Jim

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

The Basshawk is a copy of the old Venture boat with a modified vee pad, it is normal for it to dart when coming off pad just like a Ranger does. This is because the sharp front keel on hull. Your setup is off and you will need to learn to drive it thru this as it is a transition of the boat lifting to run on the pad of boat,. You need a 4" jack plate, water pressure guage, and a Inline chopper prop as the Xr6 gearcase runs too small a diameter prop to hold the boat on pad. Start with cavitation plate about 3-1/2 inches above bottom..

 

[jhow0228]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

Thanks for all the info! I had a feeling the hull design was the cause of kick and I've figured out how to control it, but was wondering if I could eliminate it. As for the chine walking, I'll and see if I can't get it to push through it. Still fairly new to this boat and getting use to the way it handles. Thanks!

 

[jhow0228]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

Also, for the jack plate. Would a non-adjustable one be ok?

 

[jhow0228]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

Not sure how fast I'm going(no gps or speedometer on the boat atm). But I am only around a tenth of the way trimmed with motor running at 42-4300 rpm

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

If the engine is to deep when you trim it the rear end will dig and bow will run high, this compounds the problem. Post a picture of the transom as it may have to much negative tuck and need a wedge installed......

 

[jhow0228]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking



Here ye go! Thanks!

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

Looks pretty dang close on height , are you just fishing or use it to ski/tube also? Is that a Laser prop or Turbo???

 

[jhow0228]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

Laser II. It's 26p btw, not 24 or 25 as I last stated(sorry). Cav plate is about 2" above the keel, and it's sole purpose is fishing. Had it out today, still walking under similar conditions. I put two 20lb anchors and it has leveled out and ran smoother.

 

[jhow0228]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

The description tells me it's falling off the pad. It could be water logged foam. Normally, if you have enough power, you just push on through the chinewalk. Almost every boat does it at some point. Having the wrong prop pitch and type can make it more difficult to recover from but I would start your troubleshooting by adding a 100lbs of 00 buck shot to the port side seat (bagged of course). You can move it around until you find the sweat spot. Don't worry, no body will laugh at you. Ask any Allison owner what they do and you'll probably hear the same thing. I had an Alli XBT that took 75 lbs and a 2002 that took 125lbs.

A side note about the buck shot. If it is your cure, either make a permanent container for it or make sure you check the bag often. They tend to rot out and you end up with bb's rolling all over you boat..

I put about forty pounds on the driver side(anchors) and it did level out considerably. Any suggestions where I could find buckshot in bulk @ a decent price?

 

[sschefer]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

Search on shotshell reloading. The stuff has really gone up in price. All mine was hand-me-down from my Dad and I stubmled across some at a scrap yard. If you buy it new you might be as well off just buying another anchor and letting it be dual purpose.

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: Bass Boat Chine Walking

Thanks for all the info! I had a feeling the hull design was the cause of kick and I've figured out how to control it, but was wondering if I could eliminate it. As for the chine walking, I'll and see if I can't get it to push through it. Still fairly new to this boat and getting use to the way it handles. Thanks!

Nauticus claim that their Smart Tabs help control chine walking.